Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-12-16
MR. BLAINE ON lHE MESSAGE.
EXPRESSION OF HIS VIEWS OF Mr.,
CLEVELAND'S TARIFF RECON-
NfENDATIONs.


. buue's Paris correspondent cables
to that paper giving the views Of
/ Mr. Blaine ON The Presidents mes
sage. Mr.. Blaine spoke - follows:
Of nave been reading an abstract
of The Presidents message and
have been especially interested in
the comments OF the London papers.
/ These papers all assume to declare
the message is free trade mani
cstO and evidently are anticipating
an enlarged market for English
fabrics in the United States as a
consequence Of the Presidents
recommendations. Perhaps that
fact stamped the character of the
message moro clearly than any
words of mine can
"YOu don't mean actual free trade
without duty Y queried the report
or.
"No," replied Mr.. Blaine. "Nor
do the London papers mean that.
They simply mean that the Presl'
dent has recommended what in
the United States is known rs a
revenue tariff, rejecting the pro
tcctive feature as an object, and
not even permitting protection to
result freely as an incident to rev
enue duties"
81 don't quite comprehend that
last point" said the reporter.
II mean," said Mr.. Blaine, "that
for the first time in the history Of
the United States the President
recommends retaining the internal
tax in order that the tariff may be
forced down even below the fair
revenue standard. He recommends
that the tax on tobacco be retained,
and thus that many millions annu-
ally shall he levied on Il domestic
product which would far better
come from a tariff on foreign fab
ricS.'
Mr.. Blaine favOrs the repeal Of
the tobacco tax. He said: 81
should urge that it be done at once,
oven before the Christmas holidays.
II would in the first place bring
great relief to growers of tobacco
all over the country, and would,
moreover, materially lessen the
price OF the article to consumers.
Tobacco to millions Of men is a
necessity. The President calls 1t a
luxury, but it Is luxury in no
other sense than tea or coffee are
| luxuries.
81 wodld pot advise the repeal
of the whiskey tax. Other consid-
erations than those of financial
administration are to be taken into
account with regard to whisky
There is "A moral side to it. To
cheaper the price of whiskey is to
increase the consumption enor-
mously. 1t would destroy high IT,
cense at once III all the States.
Whlskey has done a vast deal OF
harm in the United States.
would use the tax to fortify OuI
cities on the sea board
Further, Mr.. Blaine informed the
Tribune representative that he
would maintain the tax on whiskey
$50 long as there is whiskey to tax,
and when the national government
should have no use for the money
would divide the tax among the
Federal Union, with the specific
object of tightening the tax on real
estate. The houses and farms OF
the whole country pay too large a
proportion of the total taxes. II,
ultimately, relief could be given in
that direction, it would, in my
Judgment, be a wise and beneiicent
policy"
Concerning protection to wool
growers, Mr.. Blaine SAID: 81 should
seriously object to the repeal OF
the duty on wool. To repeal that
would work great injustice to many
interests" The question of labor
Mr. Blaine declared, underlay the
whole subject.
The interview, which is Of con-
siderable length, gives lucid
statement Of Mr.. Blaine's views on
the tariff of 1916 and its results,
one of which, he holds, was the
financial panic Of 1851, when every
bank in New York was compelled
to suspend specific payment. -Four
hundred millions in gold had been
carried out Of the country in eight
years to pay tor foreign goods that
should have been manufactured at
home, aud we had years of depres.
SION and distress as an atOnement
for our folly.
Attention is gwen in the report
10 the subject OF the increase of
export trade, Mr.. Blaine asserting
the Importance of this. He said,
however, sit is vastly more import
ant not to lose orr own great mar
ket for our own people in the vain
effort to reach the impossible. 1t
is the vast domestic trade which
in valuable. 1t is into this illimit.
able trade, even now in its infancy
and destined to attain magnitude
not dreamed of twenty years ago,
that the Europeans are struggling
to enter. The genuine free-trader
appears unable to see or cOmpre-
bend that this continental trade
not our exchanges with EurOpe-is
the great source of our prosperity.
President Cleveland now plainly
proposes a policy that will admit
Europe to a share of this trade
To the question concerning the
effect of the Presidents message in
the South, Mr.. Blaine said: 81
don't dare to answer that question.
The truth has been so long obscur-
ed by certain local questions of I'M
reasoning prejudice that nobody
can hope for industrial enlightment
among their leaders just yet. But
in my view the South above all
sections of the Union needs pro-
tcctiye tariff. The two Virginlas,
North Carolina, Kentucky, Nilsson.
f, ri, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia
have enormous resources and facil-
tiles for developing and handling
manufactures.
"They cannot do anything with.
r out protection. Even progress 50
vast as some of those States have
. made will be checked it the Presi.
f dents message is enacted into law.